Breadcrumb

Iran Weekly: Selected News & Developments

May 2, 2014

The fol­low­ing is a selec­tion of news reports and com­men­tary from Iran­ian media and main­stream pub­li­ca­tions on devel­op­ments per­tain­ing to Iran. This weekly update includes a sam­pling of pub­lished reports from Iran’s Farsi-language media*as well as rel­e­vant arti­cles from the inter­na­tional press.

In a meeting Wednesday with the IRGC Council of Ashura Commanders, IRGC Commander Mohammad Jafari said, “In terms of military and security readiness, our missiles are in very good shape; however, the IRGC’s primary objective is to be prepared in faith, and this factor makes the IRGC the superior among the world’s armies.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Qashqavi said during a press conference on the status of the nuclear negotiations that, “The future of the negotiations at present are heading toward the direction of a comprehensive [settlement], and talks are sensitive, because the primary issues have not yet been resolved. For now, we cannot directly assess the final outcome of the talks.”

Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said during a speech marking National Persian Gulf Day, “The Persian Gulf is a very important issue, and if we and our neighboring countries have the correct approach, we could earn a lot of interest from it… Today, the presence of foreign ships [in the Gulf] have created implications.” Larijani added that Iran has “not been after any tensions in the region and we will not be. The security and calm of the region is of benefit for all, especially for Iran.”

Ayatollah Noori Hamadani, a senior cleric from the city of Qom, said during a meeting with commanders and representatives of the Supreme Leader, that, “The policies of the IRGC have frightened America and the world, and we must promote the spirit of jihad and martyrdom-seeking in society, especially among the youth.”

Nader Talebzadeh, secretary of Iran’s annual International Resistance Film Festival, praised the 2012 film “Operation Terror” by former California mayor Art Olivier, as presenting the “truth” about the 9/11 attacks. During a review panel of the film, Talebzadeh said, “In the first sequence of this film, the September 11th events [orchestrated] by the American government are disclosed…”

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham released the following statement on recent Palestinian reconciliation efforts: “The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the Palestinian groups’ solidarity against the Zionist regime and any national reconciliation which leads to Palestinian unity and adoption of decisions in line with the materialization of that nation’s valuable causes against the expansionism and aggressions of the Quds Occupying Regime (Israel).”

Admiral Ali Fadavi of the IRGC’s Naval Forces announced that Iranian forces should “target the [mock-up U.S. aircraft] carrier” in upcoming war games training. Fadavi added that the exercise will allow the IRGC to “learn about weaknesses and strengths of our enemy.”

Officials from the Iranian military have urged the foreign ministry to name a new envoy to the United Nations after the U.S. block granting a visa to the Islamic Republic’s original ambassador over alleged ties to the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.